How Many Ciscoes are Needed for Stocking in the Laurentian Great Lakes?

Historically, Cisco Coregonus artedi and deepwater ciscoes Coregonus spp. were the most abundant and ecologically important fish species in the Laurentian Great Lakes, but anthropogenic influences caused nearly all populations to collapse by the 1970s. Fishery managers have begun exploring the feasibility of restoring populations throughout the basin, but questions regarding hatchery propagation and stocking remain. We used historical and contemporary stock-recruit parameters previously estimated for Ciscoes in Wisconsin waters of Lake Superior, with estimates of age-1 Cisco rearing habitat (broadly defined as total ha ≤ 80 m depth) and natural mortality, to estimate how many fry (5.5 months post-hatch), fall fingerling (7.5 months post-hatch), and age-1 (at least 12 months post-hatch) hatchery-reared Ciscoes are needed for stocking in the Great Lakes to mimic recruitment rates in Lake Superior, a lake that has undergone some recovery. Estimated stocking densities suggested that basin-wide stocking would require at least 0.641-billion fry, 0.469-billion fall fingerlings, or 0.343-billion age-1 fish for a simultaneous restoration effort targeting historically important Cisco spawning and rearing areas in Lakes Huron, Michigan, Erie, Ontario, and Saint Clair. Numbers required for basin-wide stocking were considerably greater than current or planned coregonine production capacity, thus simultaneous stocking in the Great Lakes is likely not feasible. Provided current habitat conditions do not preclude Cisco restoration, managers could maximize the effectiveness of available production capacity by concentrating stocking efforts in historically important spawning and rearing areas, similar to the current stocking effort in Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron. Other historically important Cisco spawning and rearing areas within each lake (listed in no particular order) include: (1) Thunder Bay in Lake Huron, (2) Green Bay in Lake Michigan, (3) the islands near Sandusky, Ohio, in western Lake Erie, and (4) the area near Hamilton, Ontario, and Bay of Quinte in Lake Ontario. Our study focused entirely on Ciscoes but may provide a framework for describing future stocking needs for deepwater ciscoes.

An overview of experimental Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) poisoning programs in northern Ontario, 1956 to 1964

In the late 1950s, the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests commenced an experimental Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) poisoning program in northern Ontario, the results of which were documented in a series of unpublished reports. Most projects consisted of distributing baits poisoned with strychnine on frozen lakes in late winter; 12 were conducted by district staff and typically consisted of <10 bait stations monitored for two to four months. An intensive three-year program was completed in the Allanwater area, about 250 km north of Thunder Bay, where up to 56 bait stations were distributed on a grid covering >25 000 km2. Thirty eight wolf kills were reported in the district projects and 81 in the Allanwater study. In total, where sex was identified 56% were male and 44% female. Adults made up 51% of the kill in the Allanwater study, subadults (<2 years old) 44%, and 5% were of unknown age. Two hundred and sixty five kills of species other than wolves were documented from all studies, comprising 10 mammal and nine bird species. Common Raven (Corvus corax) and Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) made up 54% and 24% of the non-target mortality, respectively, and were recorded in most studies. Kills of wolves and non-target species were probably under-reported because animals left bait stations before dying, were buried by snow, were removed by bounty hunters, or monitoring for non-target species was poor. Although completed over 50 years ago, the studies summarized here provide context on the ecological impacts and ethics of poison use to control wolves.

Pandemic preparedness and response in service hub cities: lessons from Northwestern Ontario

Purpose Responding to the needs of homeless and marginally housed persons has been a major component of the Canadian federal and provincial responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, smaller, less-resourced cities and rural regions have been left competing for limited resources (Schiff et al., 2020). The purpose of this paper is to use a case study to examine and highlight information about the capacities and needs of service hub cities during pandemics. Design/methodology/approach The authors draw on the experience of Thunder Bay – a small city in Northern Ontario, Canada which experienced a serious outbreak of COVID-19 amongst homeless persons and shelter staff in the community. The authors catalogued the series of events leading to this outbreak through information tracked by two of the authors who hold key funding and planning positions within the Thunder Bay homeless sector. Findings Several lessons may be useful for other cities nationally and internationally of similar size, geography and socio-economic position. The authors suggest a need for increased supports to the homeless sector in small service–hub cities (and particularly those with large Indigenous populations) to aid in the creation of pandemic plans and more broadly to ending chronic homelessness in those regions. Originality/value Small hub cities such as Thunder Bay serve vast rural areas and may have high rates of homelessness. This case study points to some important factors for consideration related to pandemic planning in these contexts.

Mapping Food Policy Groups

Over the past decades, there has been a rapid expansion in the number of Food Policy Groups (FPG) (including food policy councils, strategies, networks, and informal alliances) operating at municipal and regional levels across North America. FPGs are typically established with the intent of bringing together food systems stakeholders across private (e.g., small businesses, industry associations), public (e.g., government, public health, postsecondary institutions), and community (e.g., non-profits and charitable organizations) sectors to develop participatory governance mechanisms. Recognizing that food systems challenges are too often addressed in isolation, FPGs aim to instill integrated approaches to food related policy, programs, and planning. Despite growing interest, there is little quantitative or mixed methods research about the relationships that constitute FPGs or the degree to which they achieve cross-sectoral integration. Turning to Social Network Analysis (SNA) as an approach for understanding networked organizational relationships, we explore how SNA might contribute to a better understanding of FPGs. This paper presents results from a study of the Thunder Bay and Area Food Strategy (TBAFS), a FPG established in 2007 when an informal network of diverse organizations came together around shared goals of ensuring that municipal policy and governance supported healthy, equitable and sustainable food systems in the Thunder Bay region in Ontario, Canada. Drawing on data from a survey of TBAFS organizational members, we suggest that SNA can improve our understanding of the networks formed by FPGs and enhance their goals of cross-sectoral integration.

Natural gas engine driven heat pump system – a case study of an office building

An eQUEST model was developed to conduct a study of a natural gas engine driven heat pump (GEHP) for an office building in Woodstock, Ontario. The results were also compared with a roof-top unit to investigate annual potential energy saving using GEHP. The models were also calibrated with regression analysis which was obtained from measured data and validated with respect to ASHRAE Guideline 14-2002. The developed ad validated models were used to predict the performance of these system in different regions of Ontario; Toronto, Ottawa, Windsor and Thunder Bay. The results for five cities were compared in terms of annual energy, GHG and energy cost savings. It was concluded that Thunder Bay has the highest annual energy and GHG saving, while Toronto has the highest annual energy cost saving.

Natural gas engine driven heat pump system – a case study of an office building

An eQUEST model was developed to conduct a study of a natural gas engine driven heat pump (GEHP) for an office building in Woodstock, Ontario. The results were also compared with a roof-top unit to investigate annual potential energy saving using GEHP. The models were also calibrated with regression analysis which was obtained from measured data and validated with respect to ASHRAE Guideline 14-2002. The developed ad validated models were used to predict the performance of these system in different regions of Ontario; Toronto, Ottawa, Windsor and Thunder Bay. The results for five cities were compared in terms of annual energy, GHG and energy cost savings. It was concluded that Thunder Bay has the highest annual energy and GHG saving, while Toronto has the highest annual energy cost saving.